29 September 2012
Things I ate in Barcelona that I liked:
Things I ate in Barcelona that I liked:
-paella
-Spanish omelet
-other Spanish tapas (mozzarella stick things)
-Catalan salad
-homemade pork sausage
-Catalan chicken
-crème caramel
-croissants
-sangria
-sangria
-sangria
Things I ate in
Barcelona that I did not like:
[your request is invalid]
Soooooo Barcelona was a tour
de nourriture, or food. Delicious food. We came, we saw, we ate. And we were conquistadored by Spain. Amongst other
things. Let’s get back to the weekend though…
Day One was great, and I was tired, but so far, all I’d seen
of the great city of Barcelona was the inside two bars, my hostel, the creepy
bus station, and nighttime streets. In other words: I was ready to see this
place!
Now, remember when I said I wanted to see the whole city inone day? Okay, I totally had intentions to follow through on that, I did!
Except for this little thing called rain.
Apparently it never rains in Barcelona. Like, never.
But it rained the one full day that I was there and I will never forget it. A
few of us got up early to snag some breakfast downstairs before seizing the day
and seeing the sights. We had decided on Parc Güell first since it was the
farthest away. Unfortunately, we didn’t know exactly which metro station we
needed; the one we got off at was easily ¾ mile walk to the park. But we got
there in the end! And we were drenched.
Parc Güell is considered one of the most unique man-made
landscapes in the entire world. Designed by the famed architect Antonio Gaudí,
it sits high above the city and features many sculptures and structures, most
of which are finished in beautiful mosaic tiles.
can you see the city? me neither :(
me and the famous lizard
It is an amazing place, and definitely a must-see. Even on
such a rainy day, I can imagine that the tiles shining and the gardens coming
to life in the sun.
Since it was time for lunch, we left the park and walked to
the real metro station (much closer). We had our sights set on Las Ramblas, the
main drag in Barcelona. You could say it’s the Spanish Champs-Elysées, or the
Barcelona Times Square, or even the Denver 16th Street Mall
displaced over 5,000 miles away. There were several McDonald’s, Burger Kings,
and Starbucks that interspersed the tapas restaurants and cerveza bars. We
settled on a little place that looked good, but quiet. I ordered paella and a
few other people got a mix of tapas dishes. Everyone tried everything, and
while I’m sure it’s not the finest Spanish cuisine ever, it was pretty darn
tasty after walking around in the rain for three hours. In fact, talking about
it now is making me hungry (shush, tummy!).
After lunch, we realized we had better get back to seeing
all those sights. Just off Las Ramblas is La Boqueria, which is an outdoor,
covered market dating back to the 1400s (or just a really, really long time
ago). It was interesting to see how different the Barcelona market is different
from the Aix markets.
There was way more meat here, and the sweets were super
colourful. The floor was really wet though… either from all the rain or from
the draining of fish coolers… unsavory either way.
We made our way back up Las Ramblas, through Plaça de
Catalunya (which is really beautiful, but I don’t have any pictures!), and to
the Casa Batllo. Also designed by Gaudí, a real family, the Batllos, lived here
and commissioned the exotic building in 1904. Can you imagine what people’s
reaction to this place was like back then??? Sure it still looks really funky
now, but this was really out there at the turn of the century.
supposed to look like bones on the outside. what do you think?
There was a loooooooonnnggg line outside Casa Batllo, and it
was still raining. I had been walking for over four hours now, and even my
raincoat was soaked through to my skin. I had also woken up with a sinus
headache and was not in the best of moods. So I was ecstatic when two of my
good friends arrived and said they were heading back to the hostel. In dire
need of a nap, I went along. I would like to take this moment to congratulate
myself on making a very good choice – after this nap, I was well rested, not
cranky, and ready for the long night that was in front of us. Yes, job well
done, Stephanie, job well done :)
Another good decision of the day? DINNER.
We were only going to go to grab a quick bite, but when we
stumbled upon a nice looking place with really low prices, we were sold. It was
right around the corner from our hostel, too, so we weren’t even in the rain
for that long.
At first, our waiter came to take our orders, but he only
spoke Spanish and got mad at us when we couldn’t say what type of water we
wanted. When he slammed down two glass bottles of water (instead of tap, as
we’d attempted to say) on the table, I was nervous that we were going to be in
for another strugglefest of a meal.
But I was so wrong. I ordered two things – wasn’t entirely
sure what they were – but once I started eating, I was amazed!
I ended up having a Catalan salad, which roughly consisted
of lettuce, homemade pork sausage, some other sausage, tomatoes, olives, and
bread pieces. YUM! The sausage was the best part. Next up was pollo rustico, which could’ve been any
variety of things. Here, it was chicken breast pounded thin (like in German
schnitzel) and, I’m guessing, pan cooked.
the other dish that was raved about by my amigas
The edges were flaky and the middle
was tender and well seasoned. On the side were mushrooms that were also super
tasty. Two thumbs up!
We also ordered sangria – “BOWLS of sangria” – and drank
them in their entirety. There was sugar at the very bottom of the glass; I had
never thought about sugar being in sangria before, but that is obviously what
makes it so sweet.
For dessert, I ordered crème caramel, which was to
die for, but the crème brulée was also very good. In the end, we
assessed that for just 20€ each, our three course meal + BOWLS of sangria + “Fancy-ass
water” + classy atmosphere was well spent. Or one could just conclude, “C’est bonnnnnnn
– wanh.” When in France! Quand en France! Cuando en España!
After dinner, we returned to the hostel we got dressed to go
out to a bar that had been recommended to us by someone’s friend, L’Ovella
Negra. After drinking some cheap sangria in the hostel before departing, plus
that bowl
of sangria already in my stomach, I was in sangria heaven. Add to that the vat
of sangria me and four other people ordered at the bar (20€ total or 4 each –
good deal), and it was a sangria party!
L’Ovella Negra is known for being a sports bar, but we had a
lot of fun. The huge, high-ceilinged hall was covered with long tables and
benches for people to gather around, enjoy some drinks, and watch the games
projected on huge screens (like in a classroom). Spain, I dig you.
Later in the evening, someone got the idea that we could go
to this club. We got there, but the line was about a mile and a half long; it
was a 16€ cover; and it was already 3AM. No thank you! Barça, you party too
late for me. So Princess Anastasia, Jim Carey, and I hailed a cab and went back
to the hostel. I bought two bags of chips from the vending machine and
successfully used up every eurocent in my wallet… I not so successfully had
about a trillion crumbs on my shirt afterwards.
Other people came home a bit later and we hung out and
chatted for a bit before it was bedtime.
Day Two was long and tiring. While it seems fun now, it was
the antithesis of a good time in the moment. Being drenched through all my
clothes while navigating a brand-new city was awful. The huge pack of Americans
that I travelled in was embarrassing. My feet were aching, my shoes were
finally destroyed, I had no sinus medicine yet, and I had only one dry outfit
for the following day. Oh man, Barcelona, you ripped through me faster than a
hurricane.
Fortunately, I did not lose any pride or money on this trip,
though can’t say the same for some other amigas
of mine :(
Still there was one more day until I would be back in home
sweet Aix. I was already missing my host mom’s cooking and the safety of being
in a city I understand. Day Three details coming shortly...
xxo, S
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